Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to home automation systems, and more specifically to an architecture for a home automation system that utilizes cloud synchronization.
Background Information
Home automation systems are becoming increasingly popular in both residential and commercial settings. Such systems may be capable of controlling, switching data between, and otherwise interacting with a wide variety of devices, including lighting devices, security devices, audio/video (A/V) devices, heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) devices, and/or other types of devices.
Generally, in order to utilize the capabilities of a home automation system, a configuration procedure must be undertaken. During configuration a user may provide certain configuration information for devices that is required to enable services, define various scenes that, when activated, control devices in a predefined manner, define various triggers that activate services or scenes in response to predetermined events, and the like. Such information may be stored as part of a system configuration in internal storage of a controller of the home automation system. Additional information that is generated during ongoing operation of the system may also be stored in internal storage of the controller. For example, system state information may be maintained that describes a current condition of devices of the home automation system and the controller itself.
Traditionally, should the controller undergo a failure, requiring it to be reset (e.g., factory reset) or replaced with a new unit, the system configuration and any other information maintained in its internal storage will be lost. The user (or a paid installer) may be required to entirely reconfigure the system, again providing configuration information for devices, defining scenes, etc. in order to restore operation.
Further, during normal operation, a user of a traditional home automation system typically controls the system using a user interface (UI) presented on an in-home device (e.g., a remote control) that communicates with the controller over a wireless connection (e.g., infrared (IR), radio frequency (RF), local area network (LAN), etc.). The in-home device may access and/or modify at least some of the information stored within the controller, to enable the user to control services, activate and/or modify scenes, and perform other types of interactions with the system. Typically, however, such in-home devices (e.g., remote controls) are not usable when remote from the home.
While some home automation systems provide remote control on a mobile device, they typically suffer a number of shortcomings. In general, the user experience when in home, and when remote, is significantly different, such that both different functionality is provided, and any similar functionality is presented with a significantly different visual appearance. Further, the architecture used to provide remote control may introduce operational shortcomings. Some architectures allow direct access over the Internet from the mobile device to the controller, through any firewall that may be operating to protect an in-home network to which the controller may be coupled. This sort of direct access may introduce unwanted security vulnerabilities. Other architectures move information storage entirely to the cloud, such that the mobile device communicates exclusively with a cloud-based application over the Internet, which in-turn communicates over the Internet with devices of the home automation system. However, this sort of complete cloud control may introduce unwanted latency and unreliability. Even when a mobile device is disposed in the home, and has access to a high-speed in-home network, such architectures generally still route messages over the Internet back to the cloud, adding delay to any information exchange. Likewise, should Internet connectivity be lost, the user may be unable to interact with the home automation system, even when in the home and having connectivity to the in-home network.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new architecture for a home automation system that may provide protection against data loss, and allow for more effective and efficient remote control than available in previous architectures.